Got paid—but not the full amount? Before you celebrate, you might need to revisit that lien. Here’s what Colorado law says.
You performed work on a construction project, but you were not paid for your services. Whether you are the brick mason, carpenter, painter, or general contractor, provided you do so timely and accurately, under Colorado law you are entitled to record a mechanics’ lien against the property as a means to recover payment for your services.[1]* If the property owner or general contractor still refuses to pay you for your services, you may be allowed to eventually seek to foreclose on the property and recover the amount owed for your services from the proceeds of the sale.[2]
To perfect and record a valid mechanics’ lien, you have to provide ten days’ notice to the property owner and the general contractor (if applicable) of your lien rights before recording your statement of lien in the county where the property is located.[3] Generally, the statement of lien must be recorded within four months of the date you last performed labor on the project or supplied materials.[4] Then to enforce the lien, you must file a foreclosure lawsuit within six months after you last performed the labor or the completion of the construction project.[5] Finally, among other requirements, when recording the statement of lien, you must include the amount you are owed for your work.[6]
But what if after you record your lien but before you file the lawsuit, you are paid a portion of what you are owed? You may still have lien rights in the reduced amount still owed. But do you need to amend your lien to show this reduced amount? Should you just press forward with your lawsuit to foreclose the lien for the reduced amount you are now owed? Or is your recorded lien now considered excessive? Beware – if you knowingly file a lien for an amount greater than is reasonably due to you for your work, you may forfeit all rights to the lien and be liable to the property owner for their attorney’s fees and costs to remove the lien.[7] So what is the cautious contractor or material supplier to do?
Unfortunately, the Colorado mechanics’ lien statute provides very little guidance whether an amended statement of lien is required to reduce the amount claimed or the procedure for filing one. Instead, the statute only states: “New or amended statements may be filed within the periods provided in this section for the purpose of curing any mistake or for the purpose of more fully complying with the provisions of this article.”[8] The word “may” seems to indicate an amended lien may not be required to prevent your lien from being considered excessive.[9] However, it still may be best practice to file an amendment to prevent the property owner from arguing the original lien was excessive.[10]
But what about the timing? What if it has now been five months since you last worked on the project – does amending your lien make it untimely and invalid? Do you need to issue a new ten-day notice? No and no.
According to a recent decision from the Colorado Court of Appeals, as long as your original lien was recorded on time and complied with the other statutory requirements, an amendment reducing the amount of the lien following partial payment should not invalidate the amended lien just because it was filed outside the four-month window.[11] Likewise, as long as you timely complied with the ten-day notice requirement to the property owner before recording your original lien, you are not required to provide another ten-day notice before recording your amended lien to reduce the amounts you are claiming.[12]
So, if you receive partial payment after recording your mechanics’ lien but still wish to pursue your lien rights in the remaining amount still owed, you should record an amended statement of lien with the county showing the reduced amount in order to eliminate any confusion or argument that you are claiming an excessive amount.
[1] C.R.S. § 38-22-101 et seq.
*Lien rights also apply to material suppliers and vendors.
[2] Id.
[3] C.R.S. § 38-22-109.
[4] Id. at (5). The labor must be substantial and necessary for the completion of the contracted scope of work, including contractual punchlist work, rather than correcting a “trivial imperfection.” See, e.g, C.R.S. § 38-22-109(7); Richter Plumbing & Heating, Inc. v. Rademacher, 729 P.2d 1009, 1013 (Colo. App. 1986).
[5] C.R.S. § 38-22-110. Note: not six months after filing the lien.
[6] C.R.S. § 38-22-109(1)(d).
[7] C.R.S. § 38-22-128.
[8] C.R.S. § 38-22-109(6)(emphasis added).
[9] See National Mortgage Investors, LLC v. Beazer Homes Holding Corp., No. 2008CV942, 2012 WL 6901208 (Colo.Dist.Ct. – Arapahoe, May 15, 2012)(noting statute’s use of “may” versus “shall” in refusing to invalidate a lien due to claimant’s failure to reduce amount owed).
[10] Galiant Homes, LLC v. Herlik, 2025 COA 3, ¶¶ 25-28 (finding a lien was not excessive under § 38-22-128, where the lien claimant recorded an amended lien as soon as it learned it had received partial payment).
[11] Galiant Homes, LLC, ¶¶ 40-48.
[12] Sure-Shock Elec., Inc. v. Diamond Lofts Venture, LLC, 2014 COA 111, ¶¶ 9-16.